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There are essentially two paragraph indent styles, Hanging and First Line indents. The indent styles are applied to a paragraph where sentences are typed to the end without pressing the Enter key. When you press the Enter key, it starts a new paragraph, and the indent style over again. If you need to start another line within the paragraph that continues the format, use Shift+ Enter. This creates a new line without ending the paragraph.

Hanging indent (also known as second line indent)

A Hanging indent, also known as a second line indent, sets off the first line of a paragraph by positioning it at the margin, and then indenting each subsequent line of the paragraph.

Hanging indent example

First Line Indent

A First Line indent only indents the top line of a paragraph, with subsequent lines staying at the margin.

First line indent example

No indent

Selecting None will remove a Hanging or First Line indent from the selected paragraph. All lines of a paragraph will be at the margin

No indent example

Setting an Indent style

  1. Select the text where you want to add a hanging indent.

  2. Go to Home > Paragraph dialog launcher Button image > Indents and Spacing.

  3. Under Special, select one of the following indent styles:

    • Hanging

    • First Line

    • None

    On Hanging and First Line indents, you can adjust the depth of the indent with the By field.

  4. Select OK.

  1. Select the paragraph where you want to add a hanging indent.

  2. Go to Format > Paragraph.

  3. Under Special, select one of the following indent styles:

    • Hanging

    • First Line

    • None

    On Hanging and First Line indents, you can adjust the depth of the indent with the By field.

  4. Select OK.

  1. Select the text where you want to add a hanging indent.

  2. Go to Home > Paragraph dialog launcher Button image > Indents and Spacing.

  3. Under Special, select one of the following indent styles:

    • Hanging

    • First Line

    • None

    On Hanging and First Line indents, you can adjust the depth of the indent with the By field.

  4. Select OK.

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